Federal Officials Urge Low-Fat Diet for All

Washington--Federal health officials last week recommended for the
first time that all children over 2 years of age and all adults follow
a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet as a way of reducing their risk of
developing heart disease.

The recommendations that Americans consume no more than 30 percent
of their calories as fat and limit their cholesterol intake to less
than 300 milligrams per day were included in a report by a task force
organized by the National Cholesterol Education Program, a part of the
National Institutes of Health.

The report marks the first time the nih has recommended that all
Americans, including young children and those not at high risk of
developing heart disease, alter their diets.

According to the report, the average American consumes about 36
percent of his calories as fat. Also, women consume an average of 304
milligrams, and men an average of 435 milligrams, of cholesterol a day,
the report stated.

The report estimated that if Americans were to meet the new
guidelines for fat and cholesterol, they would reduce their blood
cholesterol levels by an average of 10 percent, resulting in a 20
percent reduction in heart disease.

The National Research Council last year recommended that children
over age 2 follow the same diet as adults, and limit their fat intake
to 30 percent or less of the calories they consume. In 1988, the
nutrition committees of the American Heart Association and the
American8Academy of Pediatrics reached the same conclusion.

Recommendations for Children

Officials said the Children's Panel of the ncep will release more
specific recommendations on what children should eat later this
year.

The findings were endorsed by 38 federal agencies and health
organizations, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which
oversees the school-nutrition programs.

The Congress last year passed a bill requiring the usda and the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services to develop nutritional
guidelines to distribute to food-service authorities within two years.
The Agriculture Department is charged with ensuring that the guidelines
are implemented.--ef

Vol. 09, Issue 24

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